Volume 2 - CH 14

Act 2-14: A Painful Correction for The Youth’s Misunderstanding

Three swordsmen surrounded me. They might’ve thought I was easy prey after hearing about my gift being “incompetent.”

In short, they wanted to earn some pocket money while getting rid of the weak nuisance, namely me, from the arena at the same time. What a simple development!

The place where I stood was right at the edge of the circular arena, my back being side-by-side with the outside of the arena. In this place, I should be able to win without being too conspicuous.

「KIEEEEEEEEEE!!」

A short-haired man rushed toward me with a strange scream. I tripped his feet while brushing off his wooden sword from overhead with my right hand. I let the momentum carry him outside of the arena, disqualifying him. Yup, one down.

「KAAAAAAAAAA~~~~N!!」

A long-haired man unleashed a big swing to my side. I stepped into his range, took another step, and at the same time, knocked him back with the heel of my right foot. Then, I grabbed him by his head and pushed him out of the arena with my right hand.

「UOOO!?」

The long-haired man dove out of the arena head-first while letting out a disarrayed scream.

「T-THIS DAMN BRAT!」

Lastly, a black-haired man around 1.9 meters tall unleashed a lunge as he let out a warcry.

Are these fellows incapable of unleashing their attacks unless they let out strange screams?

I dodged his lunge and wasted no time pushing his back in the direction of his lunge, outside of the arena. And just like that, the black-haired man met the same fate as the previous two, falling outside the area while letting out a strange scream.

「THIS GUY IS THE INCOMPETENT!!」

Suddenly, one of the participants shouted that in an enraged voice. Using this opportunity, a few other participants also surrounded me, pointing their wooden poles or wooden swords toward me.

Riku stepped out amidst them, pushing aside the other participants.

「THIS COWARD! How dare you not use a sword despite being a swordsman! You even pushed your opponents outside of the arena by taking advantage of their slips! Just how cowardly are you going to be!」

He screamed like an idiot while pointing his wooden sword toward me. The audience members also let out voices of approval toward Riku’s claim. It looked like Riku wanted to use me to do some sort of publicity stunt.

Though, Riku was a novice. To me, this claim of his made him look no different from a greenhorn. Seriously, is Heineman-style really going to be fine with such an idiot being one of its students?

「YOU FOOL! Have you still not noticed it even after seeing that move?」

Bri, who stood far away from us, readied his sword toward me, his face twitching when he heard Riku’s claim. Sigma also pointed his cane toward me, not letting his guard down even after Riku’s claim.

Seeing the seemingly excessive vigilance Bri and Sigma showed toward me, the other participants exchanged glances. Then, they took some distance away from me too.

「YOU FILTHY INCOMPETENT B*STARD! I’m gonna beat that rotten guts of yours!」

The audience became more and more heated as Riku’s voice became louder and braver. Finally, the audience started chanting his name.

Honestly, I was really surprised upon finding that Riku was talented at agitating his opponent. It was the kind of talent that I lacked.

However, this wasn’t the place where you brainwash someone to become your faithful follower; nor was this the plaza in front of the royal capital where you could convey the message from the kingdom to the citizens. This was a match venue, a place where your sword talked more than your mouth.

Well, I guess the duty to give a painful reminder to the ignorant youth was mine as the elder who had lived far longer than him(in the dungeon).

「I told you just a while ago, right? We’re swordsmen once we hold swords. And as a swordsman, we talk with our swords, not our mouths.」

「THIS INCOMPETENT APOSTATE!! How dare you make such cheeky remarks!」

After saying that, Riku closed in the distance between us with a rush that could only be described as a clumsy move. Then, he swung his sword, aiming toward my head. Against such crude tactics, which were slow on top of that, all I needed was to seize his wooden sword with my left hand.

「NA! L-let go of my sword!」

I caught Riku’s right punch with my right hand. Then, I twisted his hand while unleashing a kick toward his abdomen, making him fall on his knees.

As he knelt, Riku let out a painful wile. He vomited on the floor of the arena. I seized his collar with my right hand and pulled him closer.

「Now listen to me. This is going to be the last time I tell you this. We’re swordsmen once we hold swords. And a sword is a killing tool, not a children’s toy. You better stop being a swordsman with such a half-hearted resolution.」

After whispering that warning in his ears, I let go of his collar and threw his wooden sword, which I had grabbed with my left hand, back to him.

The entire stadium fell silent. The owner of the wooden sword, Riku, didn’t catch his sword and let it fall on the arena’s ground. Then…

「I changed my mind. I guess I’ll play along with your little games.」

I walked toward the other participants while speaking those words.